English Idioms
Idioms are phrases whose meanings are generally not deducible by inspection of the words alone. This, of course, makes learning them a non-trivial task. Most of these idiomatic phrases have been added over time. The original circumstances and cultural context that generated the idiomatic phrases may have passed long ago, but we are left with the idioms nonetheless. It's as if they are cultural relics frozen in time.
For example, consider the saying "Never look a gift horse in the mouth". Its meaning was probably easy to infer years ago in a time and culture when horses were given as gifts and people understood that examining a horse's teeth was a way of evaluating its age and health. But, in most parts of the world today, there's no such thing as a "gift horse" and it's unclear why you would even consider looking in a horse's mouth.
Mastery of idioms is a challenging, yet essential, part of the language learner's journey because of how commonly they are used. But, not to worry, Sentence Stack is here to help you along the way!
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Most Common Idiom Phrases
This list contains some of the most commonly used idioms. While this list contains only about a hundred phrases, we recommend you search our website with any phrases that you don't understand as we automatically detect more than 1000 phrases whenever you search our website and provide explanations and examples for each idiom detected.
add insult to injury
a hot potato
a picture is worth 1000 words
a stitch in time saves nine
ball is in his/her/your court
beat around the bush
birds of a feather flock together
burn the midnight oil
bust one's chops
call it a day
couch potato
cut a rug
cutting corners
dig one's heels in
don't give up your day job
elephant in the room
get a second wind
get bent out of shape
get something out of your system
get your act together
gone south
got your back
grasp the nettle
half baked
have a blast
have your head in the clouds
hear something straight from the horse's mouth
he who laughs last laughs loudest
hit the nail on the head
hit the sack/sheets/hay
ignorance is bliss
it ain't over till the fat lady sings
kick the bucket
kick the habit
kill two birds with one stone
let sleeping dogs lie
like riding a bicycle
off one's trolley or
olive branch
piece of cake
play devil's advocate
right as rain
rock the boat
run like the wind
saving for a rainy day
shape up or ship out
snowed under
so far so good
step up to the plate
take the piss
take with a grain of salt
that ship has sailed
that's the last straw
the whole nine yards
time flies when you're having fun
trip the light fantastic
under the weather
weather the storm
wrap your head around something
you can't have your cake and eat it too
don't judge a book by its cover
you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs
Other Proverbs, Cliches, and Euphemisms
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
an apple a day keeps the doctor away
look before you leap
slow and steady wins the race
throw stones in glass houses
time is money
